Question

Why are there two classes for almost the same purpose System.IO.File and System.IO.FileInfo ?

Answer 1

System.IO.File provides static members related to working with files, whereas System.IO.FileInfo represents a specific file and contains non-static members for working with that file.

From MSDN:

Because all File methods are static,
it might be more efficient to use a
File method rather than a
corresponding FileInfo instance method
if you want to perform only one
action. All File methods require the
path to the file that you are
manipulating.

The static methods of the File class
perform security checks on all
methods. If you are going to reuse an
object several times, consider using
the corresponding instance method of
FileInfo instead, because the security
check will not always be necessary.